Dr. Mercola Interviews Patrick McKeown

Exercise and Weight Loss

Regular exercise is an important part of effective weight loss. It helps to control your weight by using excess calories that otherwise would be stored as fat as well as boosting your metabolism and lowering insulin levels. Physical activity also helps prevent many diseases and improve your overall health.

Your weight is determined by the number of calories you eat each day minus what your body uses. Everything you eat contains calories, and everything you do uses calories, including sleeping, breathing, and digesting food. Any physical activity in addition to what you normally do will burn those extra calories.

Balancing the number of calories you expend through exercise and physical activity with the calories you eat will help you achieve your desired weight. The key to successful weight loss and improved overall health is making physical activity a part of your daily routine.

The Health Benefits of Exercise

Research consistently shows that regular exercise, combined with healthy eating, is the most efficient and healthful way to control your weight.

Research also shows that , in addition to helping to control weight, regular physical activity can reduce your risk for several diseases and conditions and improve your overall quality of life. Regular exercise can help prevent:

• Heart disease and stroke. Daily physical activity can help prevent heart disease and stroke by strengthening your heart muscle, lowering your blood pressure, raising your HDL ("good" cholesterol), and lowering LDL cholesterol ("bad" cholesterol), improving blood flow, and increasing your heart's working capacity.
• High blood pressure. Regular exercise reduces blood pressure in people with high blood pressure (hypertension).
• Diabetes. By reducing body fat, physical activity can help to prevent and control type 2 diabetes.
• Back pain. By increasing muscle strength and endurance and improving flexibility and posture, regular exercise can prevent back pain.
• Osteoporosis. Regular weight-bearing exercise promotes bone formation and may prevent many forms of bone loss associated with aging.

Regular physical activity can also improve mood and the way you feel about yourself. Exercise is likely to reduce depression and anxiety and help you to better manage stress. It is a natural and inexpensive antidepressant.  

Types of Exercise

It does not matter what type of physical activity you perform -- sports, planned exercise, household chores, yard work, or work-related tasks -- all are beneficial.

Over the past few years, exercise advertisements have targeted simplified exercise routines for weight loss and maintenance. Some exercise advertisements sell the belief that one machine will work your entire body and give you the results you need. However, many of these machines may only be good for one type of conditioning, such as cardiovascular; these machines also have limitations to the type of exercise you can do and they are not good for everyone. To determine the best type of exercise program for you, talk to your doctor and a certified athletic trainer.

How Much Exercise Should I Do?

Studies show that even the most inactive people can gain significant health benefits if they accumulate just 30 minutes or more of exercise or other physical activity per day.

For the greatest overall health benefits, experts suggest 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (see below) most days of the week plus some form of anaerobic exercise (see below) such as muscle strengthening activity and stretching at least two to three times a week.

If you have been inactive for a while, you may want to start with less strenuous activities such as walking or swimming at a comfortable pace. Beginning at a slow pace will allow you to become physically fit without straining your body. Once you are in better shape, you can gradually do more strenuous activity.

Aerobic Exercise

Aerobic exercise is any activity involving large muscles, done for an extended period of time, that makes the heart and lungs work harder. Aerobic exercise can be done for weight loss, but it also provides cardiovascular benefits. Examples of aerobic exercise include walking, biking, jogging, swimming, aerobic classes, and cross-country skiing.

Anaerobic Exercise

Anaerobic exercise usually refers to resistance training, such as lifting weights. Anaerobic exercise is done primarily to prevent muscle loss and to increase muscle mass. Weight training is a form of anaerobic exercise.

Moderate-Intensity Activities

Moderate-intensity activities include some of the things you may already be doing during a day or week, such as gardening and housework. These activities can be done in short spurts -- 10 minutes here, 8 minutes there. Alone, each action does not have a great effect on your health, but regularly accumulating 30 minutes of activity over the course of the day can result in substantial health benefits.

To become more active throughout your day, take advantage of any chance to get up and move around. Here are some examples:

• Take a short walk around the block.
• Rake leaves.
• Play actively with the kids.
• Walk up the stairs instead of taking the elevator.
• Mow the lawn.
• Take an activity break -- get up and stretch or walk around.
• Park your car a little farther away from your destination and walk the extra distance.
• Dance to the radio or other music.

The point is not to make physical activity an unwelcome chore, but to make the most of the opportunities you have to be active.

Before You Start Exercising

Before starting any exercise program, be sure to talk with your doctor. He or she can offer suggestions about which type of program would be best for you.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/exercise-weight-control

Transformation Truth - Steroids

Workout Motivation Music

How to Choose An Acceptable Weight Loss Program

When you make the decision to lose weight, you inevitably then have to go and choose a diet that not only will do the trick but also be a diet and exercise package that will be acceptable and stimulating. If you start off with a poor diet and exercise program, you’ll most likely drop it and that just makes your weight loss program a big waste of time. Here’s some food for thought…

Following a weight loss program is the most simple and efficient solution to getting rid of your extra pounds (or at least most of them). You can find these programs all around you: books that guide you, on-line weight loss programs, TV shows, etc. You can choose which one to follow depending on your personal eating habits and on the money you are willing to spend for such a program.

Many of us have a sedentary lifestyle, we go to work by car and then sit at a desk for eight hours or more, and we are always tempted by tasty and cheap but unhealthy food, rich in fats and carbohydrates. The result can be measured in the extra pounds we “gain” and it can vary from just a few extra pounds to obesity, depending on our metabolism & activities. As obesity became one of the major problems of the civilized world, an entire industry has developed on the basis of people’s need to lose weight. There are all kinds of products available on the market, such as different weight loss pills, fitness devices, electrical stimulation devices, etc. The problem is the majority of these products are not that efficient as their commercials are suggesting and some may indeed be seriously harmful to your health. It is much better to find a suitable weight loss program and follow it step by step.

The most essential part of the weight loss program is the diet plan, but for a more attractive commercial presentation the producers also come up with different “secrets” books, tools, analyzers, motivation tips, weight loss tricks, etc. There are also programs that include weight loss support; there are support groups such as Overeaters Anonymous or Fat Acceptance.

Here are some examples of weight loss programs:

Low Fat Diet

The low fat weight loss program recommends a diet based on low fat or no fat foods. Reducing fat intake and regular exercise results in long-lasting weight loss. This program can be very effective if produced and supervised by an expert. Many low fat programs found on the market reduce fat consumption too much and it can become harmful for your health. A very high consumption of carbs is also not good, which is often recommended by some programs. However, this diet is one of the best ways to lose weight, but it is important they are described in the correct manner.

High Protein Diet

This weight loss program is based on the consumption of high protein and low carb foods. Although it leads to reasonably rapid weight loss, it is often NOT an effective diet in the long run. It encourages the consumption of saturated fats and this increases the risk of heart diseases. It can also cause damage to your kidneys, as in the absence of enough carbs, for the rapid burning of fatty acids the kidneys have to work overtime.

Fixed Menu

This type of weight loss program indicates you apply a fixed menu diet. You get a list of what you have to eat everyday. It is easy to follow because you don’t need to keep the calorie count. Its efficiency and healthiness can vary greatly.

Points Program

This weight loss program is created by Weight Watchers, a company offering different dieting products and services for weight loss. The points system consists in quantifying the caloric intake and the energy expenditure. Foods are assigned a specific number of points and exercises are assigned a negative number of points. Based on their current weight and weight loss goals, program participants are allocated a certain number of points every week. Therefore, participants are allowed to eat any type of food, but they must not exceed their total point value that week. This is an easy to follow program, mainly because of the psychological effect is has on the participant.

Food Optimizing

This weight loss program is created by Slimming World, a British company which runs weight loss classes across the UK. During classes members are weighed and the loss or gain is shared with the others; they also share experiences, tips, ask for advice, etc.

The diet is a calorie-restricted one. The foods known as “free foods”, are considered to have a low calorie content may be eaten in unrestricted amounts. They recommend eating four small portions per day of foods that provide supplies of minerals, vitamins or dietary fiber, even if these foods are higher in calories. Days are classified in red days and green
days. There are red days “free foods” and green days “free foods”, and all other foods are assigned a syn value.

Although most of us know the do’s and don’ts in order to lose weight, it becomes much easier if we are using a precise weight loss program, this way we get more determined.

The most important thing is not to expect short term extraordinary results. Even if there are weight loss programs that guarantee this, you may cause serious injury to your health and you will only enjoy short-time results normally. A good diet should always include all of the Recommended Daily Allowances for vitamins, minerals and proteins. Also, the weight loss program must offer you solutions for maintenance after the weight loss phase is over; and this is much more difficult than the weight loss itself. It is important to know that only healthy the eating habits and exercise are the primary keys to long term weight control.

Author Ray Darken – Ray often writes for and works closely with The Mediterranean Diet. If you’d like more news and broader access to diet and nutrition information try Diet Reviews & Tips [http://diet-reviews-and-tips.com/]. If this link isn’t working, you can paste this one into your browser [http://diet-reviews-and-tips.com/]

Author: Ray Darken
Article Source: EzineArticles.com

Top 10 gym exercises done incorrectly

Get the most out of your workouts and avoid injury with these tips for the 10 exercises most frequently performed incorrectly.

From lifting too much weight to poor technique, an incorrectly performed exercise can mean you're not getting the benefits you're looking for, and can even cause pain and damage.

According to a poll of 942 fitness professionals by sports retailer Sweatband.com, top of the list is the bicep curl, followed by stomach crunches and the chest press.

Physiotherapist Nick Sinfield, a back pain specialist, describes the most common exercises done incorrectly and explains how to do them safely and efficiently.

"To maximise the benefits of these exercises, aim to perform them in a slow and controlled manner, going through the full range of motion and lifting within your comfort zone," says Nick.  

Bicep curls

Target: front of the upper arm

The most commonly reported error was people simply trying to lift too much weight, which engages the shoulders and reduces the effort on the biceps.

"If the weight is too heavy, you'll be working the shoulders and not properly targeting your biceps," says Nick. "Your shoulders will hunch forward instead of staying back as you lift the weight, which can cause injury."

He says leaning backwards when lifting too much weight puts a lot of pressure on the lower back, which can also lead to injury.

"To maximise the efficiency of the bicep curl, lift within your comfort zone, keep your back still and straight, and focus the effort on the biceps only. If you can't do the exercise with the correct technique, it means the weight may be too heavy."

How to do a bicep curl correctly:

• Stand tall with your shoulder blades back and down, and contract your abs.
• Keep your back, elbows and shoulders still.
• Curl your arms up until they're in front of your shoulders.

Stomach crunches

Target: abdominals

Common mistakes that reduce the effectiveness of a stomach crunch are tucking the chin into your chest, jerking up into a crunch, raising yourself too high off the floor, and not keeping your abs contracted throughout the exercise.

"All the work should come from the abs, not the neck," says Nick. "If done properly, you should not feel any strain in the neck."

While crunches improve posture, stabilise the core muscles and contribute to a healthy back, doing hundreds of them is probably a waste of time. "No matter how many crunches you do, you won't get a six-pack if your abs are hidden under layers of fat," says Nick.

How to do a crunch correctly:

• Curl up until your shoulders are about three inches off the floor.
• Don't tuck your neck into your chest as you rise – imagine a tennis ball between your chin and chest.
• Contract your abs throughout the exercise.
• Don't jerk your head off the floor.

Chest press

Target: chest, shoulders and triceps

Failing to keep the shoulders back and down was the most frequently reported mistake with the chest press.

"To perform a chest press correctly and reduce your risk of shoulder injury, you should keep your shoulders back and down throughout the entire movement," says Nick.

The common mistake is to round the shoulders forward and upward as you press, which not only reduces the work on the chest but also puts the shoulders in a vulnerable position.

Nick says there is also a tendency to recruit the legs and buttocks to help with the effort. "Don't contort your body in an effort to lift the weight – if you can't maintain proper form, you're lifting too much," he says.

How to do a chest press correctly:

• Keep your shoulders back and down.
• Contract your abs throughout the exercise and keep your neck relaxed.
• Maintain a natural arch in your lower back – don't let it arch too much.
• Don't lock your elbows when raising the weight.

Squat lift

Target: thighs, buttocks and lower back

Putting too much pressure on the lower back and not enough leg work were the most commonly observed mistakes with the squat lift.

"Don't round your back," says Nick. "Your spine needs to remain in a neutral position throughout the exercise. All the effort should come from the leg muscles."

To keep your back in the correct position, keep your back straight and contract your core muscles and buttocks. As you lower yourself, imagine sitting back on a chair, and do not let your knees lean over your toes.

"Practice correct technique using a weight lifting bar or squat rack without weights in front of a mirror," says Nick. "When you come to using weights, it's advisable to have someone experienced watch you."

How to do a squat lift correctly:

• Feet should be shoulder-width apart and slightly turned out.
• Keep your shoulders back and down and your chest pushed out.
• Shoulders should remain directly above the hips.
• Lower yourself as if you were sitting back on a chair.
• Keep your weight on your heels, not the toes, throughout the movement.
• Don't let your knees lean over your toes as you lower yourself.

Lat pulldown

Target: back and bicep muscles

Pulling the bar down behind the neck was the most commonly reported issue with the lat pulldown.

"When people perform the lat pulldown behind the neck, they tend to bend their head forward as they bring down the bar, which puts strain on the neck and shoulders," says Nick. "It's safer to bring the bar down in front of your body."

To perform the lat pulldown correctly, lean a little bit back from your hips, bring the shoulder blades back and down, and pull the bar down towards your chest.

"Keep your spine in a neutral position and engage your core muscles throughout the exercise to protect your back," says Nick. "If you find you're arching your back as you pull down, it probably means you're lifting too much."

How to do a lat pulldown correctly:

• Keep your shoulders back and down.
• Lean a little bit back from your hips.
• Pull the bar down towards your chest.
• Contract your core muscles.
• Don't arch your back.

The plank

Target: Stomach and back muscles

The plank is an effective exercise for developing your core strength around the spine, but bad form can hurt your shoulders and back.

"The common mistake here is sagging at the hips or raising the bottom too high," says Nick. Raised buttocks or collapsing back are a sign of a weak core. "Either way, you are reducing the effectiveness of the exercise," says Nick.

A collapsing back also puts an excessive amount of pressure on your lower back, which can lead to back pain. "To get the best results, always maintain perfect form," says Nick. "If you lose form during the exercise, it means your muscles are tiring. Stop and have a rest. You can build up how long you do the plank gradually."

How to do the plank correctly:

• Keep your legs straight and hips raised to create a straight and rigid line from head to toe.
• Your shoulders should be directly above your elbows.
• Keep your abs contracted during the exercise.
• Don't allow your lower back to sink during the exercise.
• Look down at the floor.

Bent over row

Target: back muscles and biceps

A hunched back was the most common error reported among people doing bent over rows.

"Having a curved spine when doing this exercise puts a lot of pressure on your back and can cause injury," says Nick. "You should maintain a neutral spine throughout the exercise."

To correct this mistake, pull in your core muscles, look ahead of you and keep the chest high. Pull the bar up towards the waist, not the chest. "Pinch your shoulder blades together as you pull the bar towards your waist," says Nick.

To get the full benefits from this move, pull the bar all the way up to the waist just above the belly button, keeping elbows tucked in, and lower the bar by straightening the arms completely.

How to do a bent over row correctly:

• Bend forward at the waist, keeping your chest high.
• Bend your knees slightly and keep your back straight.
• Keep your shoulders back and down.
• Pull the bar towards your waist, just above the belly button.  

Leg press

Target: thighs and buttocks

Starting with your knees bent right into your chest was the most common mistake with the leg press.

"This starting position is often referred to as 'going too deep' and it puts a lot of pressure on your lower back," says Nick.

In the starting position, your legs should not be bent more than 90 degrees. When you straighten the legs, push through the heels and not the toes to avoid straining the knees. Don't lock your knees when you straighten the legs.

"As you straighten your legs, maintain a neutral spine and keep your neck relaxed," says Nick. "Maintain a neutral spine: don't flatten your lower back against your support."

How to do a leg press correctly:

• Start with your knees bent at no more than 90 degrees.
• Straighten your legs by pushing through the heels, not the toes.
• Don't lock your knees at the top of the move.
• Maintain your lower back's natural curve – don't flatten your lower back against the support.
• Keep your neck relaxed and your head pressed against the support.

Leg lifts

Target: abs, hip flexors

The most common mistake observed with leg lifts is allowing the lower back to arch excessively during the lift, which not only strains the back, but makes the move much less effective as an abdominal exercise.

"If you don't keep your back muscles and abs contracted, you're only working your hip flexors," says Nick. "If you're just starting out with this exercise, focus on doing a few while focusing on proper technique," he says. "You can increase the number of repetitions gradually."

To get the most out of this exercise, Nick advises lowering and lifting the legs slowly while keeping the abs under constant contraction and without letting your heels touch the ground. "When you feel your lower back starting to arch, it's time to stop." 

How to do leg lifts correctly:

• Don't flatten your lower back against the surface – maintain the lower back's natural curve.
• Keep your head and shoulders pressed against the floor.
• Your neck should be relaxed.
• Keep your abs contracted throughout the exercise.

Lunges

Target: thighs and buttocks

Done properly, lunges are a great exercise to improve your core strength, but all too often people are risking injury because of poor technique.

One of the most commonly reported errors with lunges is stepping into the lunge and allowing the front knee to lean over the toes. "This puts a lot of stress on the knee," says Nick.

Other common mistakes include leaning the upper body forward or to one side instead of staying upright, and looking down, which can strain the neck.

"Using improper form not only has less benefit for the thighs and buttocks, but it can result in injury, especially to the knees and back," says Nick.

How to do a lunge correctly:

• Step forward with one leg, lowering your hips until both knees are bent at about 90 degrees.
• Don't let your front knee lean over the toes as you lunge. 
• Keep your upper body upright at all times and look straight ahead.

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/fitness/Pages/Top-10-gym-exercises-done-incorrectly.aspx

The Truth About Exercise And Weight Loss

If you've been working out and eating fewer calories but your extra pounds won't budge, you may be wondering why that seemingly simple strategy isn't working.

The truth is you may need a reality check about what to expect from exercise.

1. Exercise is only part of the weight loss story.

There's no getting around your tab of calories in and calories out.

The obese patients Robert Kushner, MD, clinical director of the Northwestern Comprehensive Center on Obesity, treats often tell him they're not seeing the results they want from exercise.

"They will say, 'I have been working out three days a week for 30 minutes for the past three months, and I have lost 2 pounds. There's something wrong with my metabolism,'" he says.

Kushner tells patients that exercise is very good for them, but for weight loss, he emphasizes starting with a healthy diet. "First, we've got to get a handle on your diet," Kushner says. "As you're losing weight and feel better and get lighter on your feet, we shift more and more toward being more physically active. Then living a physically active lifestyle for the rest of your life is going to be important for keeping your weight off."

Other experts have had success including physical activity early on. But they stress that the amount of exercise is key.

James O. Hill, PhD, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado at Denver, says it's easier to cut 1,000 calories from a bloated diet than to burn off 1,000 calories through exercise. "But there are many, many studies that show that exercise is associated with weight loss when done in enough volume and consistently," he says. "It depends how much you do."

For Pamela Peeke, spokeswoman for the American College of Sports Medicine's "Exercise is Medicine" campaign, fitness is a crucial part of a weight loss program, but it's for reasons that go beyond calorie burning. She praises its mind-body benefits, which will help with motivation over the long haul.

Peeke asks her patients to start walking as a way to "celebrate" their bodies with activity. "For years, they've blown off their body," Peeke says. "By them actually using their bodies, they can begin to integrate them back into their lives and not use them  as a source of torture or torment or shame."

2. Exercise is a must for weight maintenance.

"I come back to this over and over and over," Hill says. "You can't find very many people maintaining a healthy weight who aren't regular exercisers. What we find is that people who focus on diet aren't very successful in the long run without also focusing on physical activity."

Hill warns that people can be "wildly successful temporarily" at losing weight through diet alone. But there's plenty of data that show that those people regain the weight if they aren't physically active.

Timothy Church, MD, director of preventive medicine research at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La. says, "When it comes to weight, you can't talk about diet alone, and you can't talk about exercise alone. You absolutely have to address both issues at the same time."

3. Food splurges may undo your efforts.

Exercise may not buy you as much calorie wiggle room as you think.

"The average person overestimates the amount of activity they're doing by about 30% and underestimates their food intake by about 30%," says Kathianne Sellers Williams, a registered dietitian and personal trainer.

"When' I'm looking at people's food and activity logs, sometimes things just don't add up," she says. "People think, 'Oh, I just did 60 minutes at the gym' or 'I just did 30 minutes at the gym' and think that counteracts a lot of what they're eating. But the reality is our food portions are huge."

Plus, Peeke says, you have to look at all the other calories you ate or drank that day and how sedentary you were apart from your workout.

"The rest of the day, you're sitting down and you're also eating other things," Peeke says. "How are you going to burn that stuff, let alone this extra little treat that you just thought you wanted?"

It's hard to accurately estimate how many calories you burn working out, Church says. "If it is a hard workout," he says, "you kind of intuitively think, 'Wow! That's cool! I just put enough in the bank for two days!' and you really haven't."

4. Exercise machines may not tell the whole calorie story.

Treadmills and other exercise gear often have monitors that estimate how many calories you're burning.

Kong Chen, director of the metabolic research core at the National Institutes of Health, says those displays are "close, but for each individual they can vary quite a bit."

Chen suggests using calorie displays on exercise equipment for motivation but not as a guideline to how much you can eat.

"It doesn't matter if the display says 300 or 400 calories. If you do that every day or increase from that level, then you've achieved your purpose. But I wouldn’t recommend feeding yourself against that," Chen says.

Those machines don't account for the calories you would have burned anyway without exercising.

"It isn't 220 calories for those 40 minutes of exercise versus zero," Kushner says. "If you were sitting at work or playing with your kids, you’re probably burning 70 calories during that period of time. You have to subtract what you would burn if you didn't exercise. So the overall calorie burn becomes much less."

5. One daily workout may not be enough.

Your best bet for your weight -- and for your overall health -- is to lead a physically active lifestyle that goes above and beyond a brief bout of exercise.

"It's not just about 30 minutes of exercise," Chen says. "It's about fighting the sedentary environment."

"The message isn't that the 30 minutes on the treadmill isn't good," Hill says. "It's that the 30 minutes on the treadmill isn't going to make up for 23-and-a-half sedentary hours." Hill encourages people to weave activity throughout their day. "Do something to move and make it fun," he says.

Chen also recommends setting realistic expectations and taking "small steps all the time" toward your weight goal.

As much as calories-in vs calories-out matters, don't forget about stress, sleep, and other factors that can affect your weight, Williams says. "We need to look at someone's total lifestyle, not just whether someone hits the gym," she says. "Weight and obesity are really multifactorial, and it really simplifies it just to break it down to nutrition and exercise. Those are really big pieces but definitely not the only pieces."

http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/exercise-and-weight-loss-five-truths

Advanced Exercise to Lose Weight